Posthole digger



L. E. BECK POSTHOLE BIGGER Jan. 4, i949.

Filed July 31, 1944 4. Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 4, 1949. l L E, BECK2,458,241

POSTHOLE DIGGER i Filed July 3l, 1944 4 Shee'cs-Sheei'l 2 INVENTOR.

L 55C/f Jan. 4, 1949. L. E. BECK 4 2,458,241

POSTHOLE DIGGER Filed July 31, 1944 4. Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

- Lf. 55C/f L. E. BECK POSTHOLE DIGGER Jan. 4, 1949.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 51, 1944 Patented Jan. 4, 1949 UNITED STATESPATENT GFFICE POSTHOLE BIGGER Lester E. Beck, Danville, Iowa ApplicationJuly 31, 1944, Serial No. 547,432

(Cl. Z55-22) 4 claims. l

The present invention pertains to improvements in mechanism for makingvertical holes in the earths surface, primarily for use in the buildingof fences but not necessarily restricted to that use. For example, thisapparatus may be used in the boring of holes for telephone and telegraphpoles. Other uses may also be found for it, such as for the making ofholes for the introduction of blasting charges for the breaking up ofhardpan when .preparing to plant an orchard.

One of the purposes of my present invention is to provide an apparatusof the character indicated in which the auger will be power driven, notonly for rotation thereof but also for the raising and lowering of theauger. Another purpose of this invention is to provide an apparatus ofthe character indicated which may be driven from the power plant of thetractor, thus avoiding the necessity of providing a second .power meanson the tractor. Another object of this invention is the provision of alight Weight, inexpensive, simple construction which can be operated byone man, without the necessity of having a helper. Still another objectof this invention is the provision, in an apparatus of the characterindicated, of a safety mechanism such that the lifting of the auger willbe automatically stopped before, or at the time, the auger reaches itshighest point, at which, if operation were continued, injury mightresult. My invention further comprises improved means for raising andlowering the auger in a construction of the class indicated. Myinvention further resides in the combination,

construction, and arrangement of parts illus? trated in the accompanyingdrawings and, While I have shown therein what is now regarded as thepreferred embodiment of this invention, I desire the same to beunderstood as illustrative only and not to be interpreted in a limitingsense.

In the drawings annexed hereto and forming a part hereof,

Fig. l illustrates a front end View of a tractor having my presentinvention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 illustrates a rear elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1,parts of the tractor being omitted;

Fig. 3 shows a plan View of the structure illustrated in Figs, l and 2,parts of the tractor being omitted; Y

Fig. 4 represents a left side elevation of the structure shown in Fig.3;

Fig. 5 represents a fragmentary horizontal sec-` i tion takenapproximately along the plane indi- Fig. 6 represents a fragmentaryvertical section taken approximately along the plane indicated by theline 6 6, Figs. 1 and 2.'

Reference will now be made in greater detail :to the annexed drawingsfor a more complete description of this invention. In these drawings,the numeral I indicates an ordinary commercial tractor of a well-knowntype, numeral 2 indicates the auger, and numeral 3 a belt pulley on thepower take-off shaft at the right hand side of the tractor. It is notnecessary to go into a detailed description of the parts thus far men-.-

tioned.

Secured to the right hand side of the tractor frame is a supportingframe 4 which has at its upper end a bearing 5 for one portion 6 of adrive shaft whereby the auger 2 isfoperated. On the outer end of thisshaft section 6 is a belt pulley 1 which is connected by a belt 8 with a'pulley'3 on the power take-off shaft. A universal joint 9 of anyapproved type may be used to connect the shaft 6 with the shaft sectionI0. This latter is preferably of a non-circular type and fits slidinglyin a shaft section I I which is, in turn,lconnected by a universal iointI2 to the shaft section I 3. On

the inner end cf this shaft section I3 is mounted a beveled pinion I4which meshes with a gear I 5. The gear I5 is slidingly mounted on thehollow shaft or sleeve I6 whereby to permit it to be moved finto and outof engagement with the pinion I4.

-whereby it is steadied. The shaft 'ZI has a universal joint 2lb whichconstitutes a part thereof and relieves strain on the shaft as the augerand its suspension means move toward'and away from the tractor during.use.

The electric lamps ,of the tractor, indicated at are adjustably mountedto be moved to de sired positions on the bar 23. The rod 25 is looselymounted in the bracket 22. The rod or shaft ZI has a handle 2 I c bymeans of which it may beop- @rated to cause the crank 20 to separate thegear 65 from the pinion I4 in the manner described above. When the rodor shaft 2l is rotated through one hundred eighty degrees (180), thecrank 2B pulls the link I9 and, through this, the wedge-shaped memberI1, so as to permit the gear i5 to drop out of mesh with the pinion I4,gear I5 sliding on sleeve I6 when released by movement of thewedge-shaped member I1.

Shaft or lever 25,-may be turned vertically and horizontally about;its*- point of contact,Y with they bracket 22, as a pivot, and theforward end of the lever, which is secured in the end of the latch.

r21, may lift this end and, by horizontal Inovement, cause the latch tomove lengthwise. Asf' shown in Fig. 2, the latch 21 has pawls 28.,.29.pivotally mounted thereon and spring-pressed into engaging position suchthat one/.or theotherof the pawls engages the ratchet 30, as willbeob.-l vious from Fig. 2. These pawls serve as latching means for theratchet 3@V when the latter is rotated, either to theK left or theright, V The left end of the latch 21, as viewed in Fig. 2, pivotaliyconnected tol-the lo-wer end of the link 3| which is pivotal-'1ymounted?upontheframe-member 32. Therefore, as thel-latch 21* is moved.lto ward the left or right, it causes a corresponding swinging ofthe-lower endl of the link 31|. Intermediate the two ends-of the link-3I=, at 33, is pivotally connectedia l'everf 34E carrying a pair ofpivotedpawls 35,' 36. I

Theendj 31lof" the lever' 3'4, as shown in Fig. 2, extends. throughafblocky 38., i-n-Ywhich itl is rockablysupported; and-which:isconn-ected by means of a linkI 39 t0I a crank pin 0-1on'thepulleyy M,Thisvpulleysis connected' in driving relationby a beltWtosapulleyr3lonthe`shaft l-S From what has been said?, it will'befrealized'that rotation of the shaft comprising the parts 6 and 9 toI3fyinfelusive, will cause rotation of the pulleys 4fIf' and It.Landthis will', in turn, cause reciprocation of* the link 38; causingoscillation of' the block 38 andi` lever 34?. When. the parts are intheposi-v tion` shownri'fn Fig: 2, thepawll 35fwillcause countercloek'wiserotationy of the ratchet 30; since lifting of' the eri-df 37E of lever3@ will cause pawl 351 to engage in a higher notch in the2 ratchet 30.Then, asr the` lever 3d goes down, it will cause rotation of theVratchet. As this is stepped forward', the pawl 28i engages'- in thevnotches of: the

ratchetV preventing' backward' rotation` thereof.

This: operationl causes downward feeding' of the auger.

Thef ratchet 30? is mounted on a shaft and'is connected'5 by this shaftltoa sprocketl 4'4" 'which engages in the 1in-ks of the chain 45securedto the square bar 446. Thsbar'is: secured atri'ts lower end, by asuitable` brackety M, to the auger 2f. The auger has a squared sha-ft4'9 which extends upwardly through the' driver gear `I fandthe sleeve 65It, by which the auger-can be rotated.

An: angle bracket 511 is mounted on the'supporting frame .4 andfurnishes' a support for the front? end' of the lever 5.1. @n the rearedge of the bracket' 50,: isA a ratchet 52' whichV cooperates withratchet mechanism 53 provided with a contr'olting'handlet..lswilllibeseen in Fig. 3; there isa. lug` projecting fronfr one edge'ofthe lever Y 5I. and tl'nl'sI iisconnected byfa link 56 to a" generally A-shaped frame 51. Albrac-k-et 58 issecured-` to.1 therleft: sideotthe tractor and. the arm-s.r off this VMll raised; as. farl as; it.should g0 bracket are pivotally connected at 59 to the arms of the frame51. This lis shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. At its top, the frame51 has a horizontal crossbar 6i) which is pivotally connected to theupper ends 9i the side members of the frame 51. Extending toward theright side of the tractor from the bar is a bracket el which, as shownin Figs. l and 2, is connected to the frame 32. The double Uboltconnection 6d suspende the auger in such a manner that it is free toswing in any direction and will therefore as sume a substantiallyvertical position when free to move. The auger is provided with aremovable.. tini whichhas a cutting. blade 6,1 remov ably'secfured,thereto so that. it may beA removed and' sharpened when desired. The tip5t may be...` removed by removing one or more bolts 63, shown in Fig. 4.f

A; safety mechanism is provided to keep the operator from breaking themachine by continuing the lifting of the auger after it has been Thiscomprises a lever 10 pivotally mounted upon sleeve 56a, shown in Fig; 5,and having arod 1l depending from one end to be engaged by theauger-suspending head2 1%, whenIthef-lfatter reaches thel safety limitot-'i-tsupward motion. Suspended from the second: end" o'ffthelever 10is astop 13 which pre` in-gf` and actuatingV the ratchet 3d and, throughit;v

thee sprocket'.Y M; The stop member T3 is norma'lyfliftedout of itspawl-stoppi'ng position by a springi'13a. whenfrod 'I-iI is not raisedby the head 'E22 A. pair ofl arms litri` are straddled by Ui--bolts 1Ewhich pass through the plate 15' andv connect. this to thearrns and,hence, to the` head 12.. Thev plate surroundsv the auger shaft andmoves. verticalhT4 therewith. A

Ani angled" fratrie member 1l" issecured to the top of. the frame andiextends downwardly at the ri'g-htfhand' sifdethereofy asy shown mostclearly in Figi, 2. This: downwardly extending portion isindicatedAbythenurneral18;` A bracket, shown at 19, extends laterallyfrom the vpart 18, as'

as'. indicated ata.' Theseu notches and the lowerV edge: portion.- of.thefbracket 'i9-v cooperate in hold'-A ingthe link 21 inf adjustedposition as 'the linky ,is moved from.. position to position by the rod-25. to change. the directionof translation of the augllr 2.` f y It isydesired toY note, that, becauseoi the posi@ tioning of the feed pawls3,5, and 3.6., .the rate of downwardfeeding of the auger is considerablyslower than the rate of retraction thereof. This is apparent from Fig. 2from` which itwill be seen that the ratchet 3U will be, ordinarily,stepped forward only onenotch at a time by the pawl 35, whereas, whenthe-pawls `and 28 are shifted out loff engage-ment with the ratchet 3Gand the pawls 29 and 36 are shifted into engagement, then eachoscillationV ofthe lever 31 will produce a grattery retractivelnfxovernent-v foreach os :illation of the lever 31. It is also to benoted thattha- Under such circumstances, the`v bolts passing throughthese slots, permit the relative longitudinal adjustment of the plate11a with relation to the frame Tl. This permits adjustment of the augerwith relation to the sup porting frame of which the arms 51 form a part,thus making it possible to compensate for changes in weight of diierentsized augers used, whereby to be sure that the auger1 will hangvertically.

Operation Assuming that the operator of the machine has finished themaking of a hole and is ready to go to the next location, he has theauger in elevated position, as shown in the drawings. He then drives thetractor to the new location and, if the auger is inwardly or outwardlyfrom the exact position indicated for the hole, he releases the ratchetmechanism 52, 53 and swings the lever 5l to the right or left whichswings the frame 5l toward or away from the tractor. This causescorresponding movement of the auger 2. If the latter is too far forward,or not far enough, he moves the tractor until he can lower the auger tothe exact position indicated. The ratchet mechanism 52, 53 will hold theframe 5l against 35 This releases pawls 28, 29, 35, and 36 from the 45ratchet 30 which permits the auger 2 to descend, the point of the augerpenetrating the ground and serving as a guide for the auger while theboring is taking place. When the point of the auger enters the ground,the lever is moved over to the rst notch so that the pawls 28 and 35engage ratchet 30. Then, as shaft 9, IG, ll, l2, i3 roatates, it causeslever 31 to oscillate vertically, resulting in rotation of the ratchetand downward movement of the chain and bar 46. This i downward motion ofthe bar 45 forces the auger. 2 into the ground, aided by the blade El.Rotation of the auger is started by causing engagement of the tractorclutch, which causes rotation of the shaft 9, l0, Il, I2, I3

After the desired depth has been reached, the tractor clutch is releasedso that operation of the mechanism is stopped. Next, the handle 2id isturned to release gear I5 from pinion lll so that the auger will notrotate when being lifted from the ground. Next, the lever 25 is moved tobring the end notch into engagement with part 19. thus causing pawl 36to engage ratchet 3Q. The parts are now positioned to cause lifting ofthe auger when lever 37 is oscillated. Now, when the tractor clutch isput into engagement, the ratchet 30 will be rotated in the oppositedirection and will lift the chain 45 and bar 46, thus lifting the augerout of the hole. When it reaches its upper limit of motion, the lever'l0 and parts associated therewith will hold the pawl `36 away' from;the ratchet 30' and will Ythus-'stop the `l`lifting;lino"- tion. Thepawl 29 being 'in engagement with-the ratchet 30 prevents downwardliriotionof 'the auger. Before moving to :the next" location, it isdesirable to throw theclutch out of engagement so as to stop therotation ofishait '9, ill, il, 12,13. Everything is now're'adyv formoving to the' next lclation'. l' y V It will of course be understoodthat thespeiiic description of structure set -forth above may bedeparted from without departing from lthe spirit of this inventionasvset forth herein and in the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. Ina digger of the type indicated, means for adjustably mounting avertically reciprocating auger upon the side of a tractor, an augercarried by said mounting means, and means for raising and lowering saidauger, the last mentioned means including a chain secured to the auger,a sprocket carried by the supporting means and engaging the chain formoving the auger lengthwise, and operating means for rotating thesprocket, the operating means for the sprocket comprising a leverpivotally mounted at one end, carrying a pair of spaced pawls pivotallyconnected to the lever intermediate its ends, a ratchet xedly connectedto the sprocket, and mechanism for pivotally oscillating the lever aboutits end pivot in a vertical direction, with one of the pawls inengagement with the ratchet.

2. In a power driven post hole auger for use on a self-propelled powerunit, having an auger-suspending frame, a vertically reciprocable augersuspended from the suspending frame, pawl and ratchet mechanismconnecting the auger and said frame for causing raising and lowering ofthe auger, and a safety stop for holding a pawl out of engagement withthe ratchet whereby to render the raising mechanism non-operative tocause further raising of the auger after it has reached a predeterminedfixed point in its course of upward travel.

3. In a power driven post hole auger to lbe mounted on a self-propelledpower unit, having an auger-suspending frame, a vertically reciprocableauger suspended from the suspending frame; the combination of pawl andratchet mechanism connecting the auger and frame for causing raising andlowering of the auger, and a safety stop for holding a pawl out ofengagement with the ratchet whereby to render the raising mechanismnon-operative to cause further raising of the auger after it has reacheda predetermined fixed point in its course of upward travel, said stopcomprising an abutment connected with the upper part of the auger andtravelling upwardly and downwardly therewith, a pendulant, verticallyreciprocable link to be engaged by the abutment as the auger is raised,and a guard connected with the link and moving therewith, said guard,when the auger approaches the upper end of its course of travel, beingmoved into a position to prevent actuating contact between the ratchetand the pawl which engages it to cause raising of the auger.

